# Popeyes: pope yes

> MediaPost reported 445,000 likes on Popeyes' papal-election X post by the next afternoon.

- Owner: Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2025-05-08
- Peak date: Week of May 9, 2025
- Date basis: Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.
- Spread Score: 26 (Niche, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Newsjacking, Response chain, Platform jump, Press loop, Creator relay

## Summary

Popeyes posted "pope yes" during the papal election. Creators and other brands replied; the joke reached LinkedIn, Lemon8, Reddit and press. MediaPost reported 445,000 likes the next day. Advertising awards returned to the post the following year.

## Timeline

- 2025-05-08 — Vatican (TV) — White smoke announced the papal election at 18:07 Vatican time, before the Popeyes post.
- 2025-05-08 — @Popeyes (X) — Popeyes posted the two words "pope yes" at 17:23:22 UTC.
- 2025-05-08 — @theo (X) — Theo quoted the Popeyes post and wrote that its intern deserved a promotion.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/popeyes-pope-yes

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Popeyes: pope yes.” Case HIS-00349. Spread Score v1.2: 26/100. Updated 2026-10-12. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00349